Greek police dismantle fraud ring that posed as DEDDIE employees, stole over €1.6 million
Greek authorities arrested seven members of a family-run criminal group that impersonated DEDDIE employees and accountants to defraud citizens of more than €1.6 million.
The operation
On the afternoon of 1 July 2026, officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, supported by an OPKE team, raided a property in Zefyri, western Attica. Inside they found the group's call centre, from which members had been placing dozens of fraudulent calls every day. Seven people were arrested, including the two alleged ringleaders and the callers. They face charges of forming a criminal organization and committing fraud by profession, in complicity and on a continuing basis, with illegal proceeds exceeding €120,000.
Modus operandi
The group sourced telephone numbers from public directories, then called potential victims daily. Posing as DEDDIE employees or accountants, they used pretexts such as pending tax declarations, the need to insure cash and valuables, or a supposed electricity leak. They persuaded victims to gather money and jewellery and leave them at designated spots inside or outside their homes. Other members would then collect the items, claiming they needed to be counted or appraised.
Family-run fraud ring
Investigators described the organization as a "family business": all members were related and came from the same social group. The leaders coordinated and supervised operations, while the callers were responsible for finding victims, activating phone connections and making the fraudulent calls. To avoid detection, the group frequently moved its call centre and changed phone lines, and had installed surveillance cameras and security shutters at its operating sites.
Seized evidence and flaunted wealth
During searches, police confiscated 13 mobile phones, three prepaid phone packages, 13 torn pages from telephone directories with handwritten notes marking victims, gold jewellery and a car. Photographs recovered from the suspects' phones showed them posing provocatively with stacks of cash, gold sovereigns and luxury watches, which they had purchased with the proceeds and flaunted on social media. The total haul from the scams is estimated at over €1.6 million. The suspects have been brought before a prosecutor, and the investigation continues to determine the full extent of the group's activities.
